Open Mat 8 - Scotland

Report & pics by Hywel Teague

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost three years since the SFUK crew put on the first Open Mat. Held way back in May 2001, it was Nathan "Brainchild" Leverton who had the idea of organising a get-together open to anyone interested in submission grappling. Requiring nothing more than a big room with plenty of mat space, the idea was for people to meet like-minded grappling enthusiasts in a relaxed and non-structured environment. Here they could share techniques, roll in a non-competitive manner, or partake in some of the impromptu workshops held by visiting instructors for nothing more than a token mat fee. But one of the best parts was getting to put faces to screen names from the SFUK Forum.

Having travelled from one end of the country to the other, taking in cities such as Leicester and Manchester, this was the first time OM had been north of the border. Organised by Paul McVeigh and Nathan Leverton the chosen venue was to be the university in Glasgow, as it was decided it was easy enough for most people to reach and held enough locally based interested parties to carry it if interest wasn’t that high. With 75 people arriving from places such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and elsewhere the worries of low attendance were unfounded as we suddenly found ourselves spreading off our (large) mat and onto the adjoining mat that had been used by an earlier Thai-boxing class.

Clubs such as Dinky Ninjas, Royce Gracie BJJ Glasgow, Rick Young’s and many more (unfortunately far too many for me to remember) were to be found rolling away for much of the day. A good number of BJJ blue belts and various seasoned grapplers were there battling it out, yet there were plenty of beginners amongst the throng of bodies that covered the mat.

Proceedings opened with a quick intro from Nathan and then everyone simply stepping on the mat and inviting each other for a roll for the first hour or so. Most people seemed to have plenty of gas left for the workshops. Paul McVeigh, teaching his trademark so-low-percentage-as-to-be-practically-suicidal stuff, took the first of the lessons. Moments later, bodies were flying through the air on trajectory courses with the ground as he stood to one side cackling mercilessly. Just goes to show, flying armbars and triangles aren’t for everyone!

Next up was Nathan "Levo" Leverton teaching some clinch fundamentals. Many of the guys had prior experience of Thai-style clinch but he wanted to teach a few Greco style moves that were applicable to both MMA and submission grappling. Taking everyone through how to get double underhooks and what to do with them once you had them, he had them taking each other down with ease in no time.

Unfortunately, as I was busy helping Levo demonstrate (read: getting chucked about lots) I missed Sambo master Vadim Kolganov doing a workshop on submission holds, mostly leglocks (obviously!). I’m told that he showed some quality drills on working entries to leglocks such as the kneebar as well as showing off numerous other submissions. Every time I looked over I saw them twisting and stretching each other into painful looking shapes!

Unusually, stamina held out for most people, as there were still plenty on mats at end of the four hours. They must have been getting plenty of rest while distracting themselves with the two stalls on offer. There were the Kettlebells being demoed and thrown around by Vadim and his students, and there was the Tyrant MMA stand (the only dedicated MMA shop in Scotland), purveyors of salubrious MMA wares. As usual at an Open Mat, there weren’t any egos, everyone was really easy going and there was the fantastic laid-back atmosphere characteristic of OM. It may have been a loooong drive there and back for us Middle-Englanders, but as ever, it was worth it.

Paul McVeigh, Levo & Hywel

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